What is Earned Value analysis?
Understanding EVA (Earned value Analysis) is very important for Project success. Earned Value Metrics provide a common set of parameters and benchmarks against which a project progress can be mapped. This is mostly used during the Control and execution phase of the project. The metrics help indicate whether the project is on track or not.
Earned Value Metrics is a set of indicators that help in tracking and measuring certain parameters against a certain baseline which would help us in defining or visualizing whether a project is successful or not.
Advantages:
Along with this, other advantages of using Earned Value Analysis in project management are,
- Accurate reporting of project logistics to PMO and project sponsors
- Early warning to Project Managers so they can take corrective actions by performing risk analysis, if a project starts going over budget or behind schedule
The 2 key elements that guide or help to trend a project are,
- Project Cost
- Project schedule
In order to calculate earned value on any project large or small, first the Project Manager has to define the WBS (Work breakdown structure), define the smallest level of activity schedule and cost and this forms the Project baseline (or planned value) against the project actuals (or AV) can be compared to calculate the earned value variances and indices.
Terminology:
Certain acronyms that will help us in understanding EVM are
PV = Planned Value = The Budgeted amount allocated for a certain scheduled work activity until the current point in time =Also known as Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS)
e.g. For a web based project (say), we need to create a screen
This requires (say) 1 resource for 40 hours (@ $100/Hr), so the PV for this task is $4000 (for 40 hours of work)
AC = Actual Cost = Total Cost for the work that was performed=Also known as Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP)
e.g: In the above example assume it took 1 res 10 hours to complete 30% of the work
AC=10*100=$1000
BAC = Budget at completion i.e. Originally budgeted amount for the project i.e baseline cost
e.g. In the above case assume baseline cost is $4000
So based on this, we can track the project performance as follows,
EV = Earned value = BAC*Percent of Project completed=This indicates How much of budget should have been spent for the amount of work done so far.
e.g. EV=4000*0.3=1200
Cost variance = CV = EV - AC = This helps to determine project performance wrt cost/budget
e.g. CV=1200 - 1000 = 200 (NOTE: Positive variance is better than negative)
Schedule variance = SV = EV - PV=This helps to determine the project performance wrt schedule
e.g. SV=1200-4000=-2800 (NOTE: Positive variance is better than negative)
Cost Peformance Index = CPI = EV/AC= This index helps to understand how $ spent performs wrt planned cost
e.g.CPI = 1200/1000=1.2 (NOTE: Index closer to 1 indicates we are closer to baseline)
Schedule performance Index = SPI = EV/PV = This index helps us understand whether we are ahead or behind schedule
e.g. SPI=1200/4000=0.3 (NOTE: Index closer to 1 indicates we are closer to baseline)
Estimate at completion = EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) = Indicates what should be the final cost at any point in the project
e.g. EAC = 1000 + (4000 - 1200) = 3800
Estimate to Complete = ETC = EAC - AC = Indicates how much will it cost you to complete the project based on the current status
e.g. = 3800 - 1000 = 2800
They key concept here is how to calculate the "Value" of the work that is completed. There are various schools of thought to support this
1> Some consider 50% value reached when 50% of work is completed
2> Some consider 30% value reached when 70% of work is completed and then remaining 70% of value is realised when rest 30% of work achieved
3> Some consider 0% value reached till all 100% of work is completed
These metrics provide lot of insight as to the project progress. This can be mapped and managed using simple excel sheets provided we have the baseline calculated. This metrics analysis system will also account for scope, schedule changes and resource change. Those can be fit into the timeline
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Soft Skills
You might ask - how and why is article related to Project Management.
Back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth and not so far off till late 90s, it was thought that the Technical knowhow or the 'hard skills' was the only factor attributed a project's success. People who were pure Techo managers, sitting in one corner desk could solve the problems troubling planet earth.
But not any longer, the outlook has changed, C-level executives, mid managers etc have begun to realize that soft skills are also as important, infact soft skills are identified in today's world as also one the most important success criteria to execute a project.
What do you mean by soft skills -
Soft skills is an art - an art to communicate effectively. Effective meaning so that people will understand, listen and relate to what you are saying. For some people this trait is inborn. But for most, this has to be acquired by constant practice and learning.
This article is for those who, when surrounded by people, never fail to secretly salute a black spider that manages to find dark nooks and corners even in broad daylight.
For those - not so brave hearts, fear not - the art of soft skills can definitely be learned, cultivated and honed to the extent of becoming an expert.
One of the major issues wrt soft skills is, you do not know the importance of this trait till it hits you - like a deer hit by blazing lights of a running car,
The educational courses that teach management as a part of any curriculum talk about the technical aspects of Management, and prepare you with a Project Management framework but nothing prepares you for the soft skillset required.
Some may ask why do we need Soft skills to run a project? The reasons are many,
First and foremost is 'Objectives and expectations alignment'
- Projects deal with multiple stakeholders with varying skills, diverse personality types.
- Each stakeholder may have different understanding of the project.
- For influencing the work outcome either with stakeholders or even Team members, you will need strong leadership, communication and convincing skillset.
Everyone has to be aligned to a common goal, just like a army of ants carrying grains of food in a straight line to its storage area.
- At an individual level, i have personally seen many a talented people fail. Not because they did not have the Technical prowess, but because they only had Technical mastery.
No one wants to work with people, who may be so called masters of their Technology domain, but do not have the basic people skills. This is an attribute of a person's Emotional Quotient (EQ).
There is no magic formula to gain soft skills. The steps needed to achieve Soft skills could range from showing empathy and optimism towards your colleagues to extreme self-awareness in knowing what's going on around you and this is a constant learning process. You need to keep on practicing this day in and Day out.
As a person grows in his career, in order to reach higher echelons of success, it is much more important to be have soft skills competence than low level Technical knowhow.
In short, gaining Soft skills is like a fear factor game challenge where the contestant has to be on a running speedboat and has to climb the copter above using a low hanging rung of ladders in a limited timespan.
Standing on the speedboat and watching the copter above (The Project) is not enough, having excellent upper, lower body strength will not get the job done (Hard skills). But what will get you to the winners circle, is to reach out for the ladder and climbing it one rung at a time (Soft skills).
Baby steps:
You cannot climb Mt. Everest in one day (or maybe you can, but not in this case). There are certain steps that one can follow to achieve excellence in this personality skills
Join Public speaking groups:
1> e.g. Toastmasters Group: Toastmasters club is an excellent forum for personal development in terms of fear of public speaking, teaches you various traits required to be better listener and speaker. How to formulate your thoughts clearly and precisely.
One day at a time:
2> Start with meeting 1 person at a time. When you are meeting a person - even for project reasons, try to get to know the person, understand his background, his likes/dislikes, perspective on the project, what may be the pain points for him and how you can help resolve them? What does it mean by project success to him? Learn to be a good listener.
The person could be anyone from project sponsor to an end user-stakeholder to one of your internal development and testing Team members.
Professional Courses and Training:
3> Seek professional help. There are numerous training institutes and courses which delve on this particular subject. These courses will help you change the perspective and suggest ways and mean that will help you achieve your goals.
In Summary, be people centric and more extroverted than you are, start to get out of your comfort zone. We have to remember that a project is teamwork and a project is deemed successful or a failure only by the efforts of the individuals that make the Team. So encourage your Team members, have regular get together sessions, appreciate and acknowledge achievements, provide guidance and seek help, when and wherever required.
It is definitely time to come out of that dark cave and bask in the glorious sunlight.
Back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth and not so far off till late 90s, it was thought that the Technical knowhow or the 'hard skills' was the only factor attributed a project's success. People who were pure Techo managers, sitting in one corner desk could solve the problems troubling planet earth.
But not any longer, the outlook has changed, C-level executives, mid managers etc have begun to realize that soft skills are also as important, infact soft skills are identified in today's world as also one the most important success criteria to execute a project.
What do you mean by soft skills -
Soft skills is an art - an art to communicate effectively. Effective meaning so that people will understand, listen and relate to what you are saying. For some people this trait is inborn. But for most, this has to be acquired by constant practice and learning.
This article is for those who, when surrounded by people, never fail to secretly salute a black spider that manages to find dark nooks and corners even in broad daylight.
For those - not so brave hearts, fear not - the art of soft skills can definitely be learned, cultivated and honed to the extent of becoming an expert.
One of the major issues wrt soft skills is, you do not know the importance of this trait till it hits you - like a deer hit by blazing lights of a running car,
The educational courses that teach management as a part of any curriculum talk about the technical aspects of Management, and prepare you with a Project Management framework but nothing prepares you for the soft skillset required.
Some may ask why do we need Soft skills to run a project? The reasons are many,
First and foremost is 'Objectives and expectations alignment'
- Projects deal with multiple stakeholders with varying skills, diverse personality types.
- Each stakeholder may have different understanding of the project.
- For influencing the work outcome either with stakeholders or even Team members, you will need strong leadership, communication and convincing skillset.
Everyone has to be aligned to a common goal, just like a army of ants carrying grains of food in a straight line to its storage area.
- At an individual level, i have personally seen many a talented people fail. Not because they did not have the Technical prowess, but because they only had Technical mastery.
No one wants to work with people, who may be so called masters of their Technology domain, but do not have the basic people skills. This is an attribute of a person's Emotional Quotient (EQ).
There is no magic formula to gain soft skills. The steps needed to achieve Soft skills could range from showing empathy and optimism towards your colleagues to extreme self-awareness in knowing what's going on around you and this is a constant learning process. You need to keep on practicing this day in and Day out.
As a person grows in his career, in order to reach higher echelons of success, it is much more important to be have soft skills competence than low level Technical knowhow.
In short, gaining Soft skills is like a fear factor game challenge where the contestant has to be on a running speedboat and has to climb the copter above using a low hanging rung of ladders in a limited timespan.
Standing on the speedboat and watching the copter above (The Project) is not enough, having excellent upper, lower body strength will not get the job done (Hard skills). But what will get you to the winners circle, is to reach out for the ladder and climbing it one rung at a time (Soft skills).
Baby steps:
You cannot climb Mt. Everest in one day (or maybe you can, but not in this case). There are certain steps that one can follow to achieve excellence in this personality skills
Join Public speaking groups:
1> e.g. Toastmasters Group: Toastmasters club is an excellent forum for personal development in terms of fear of public speaking, teaches you various traits required to be better listener and speaker. How to formulate your thoughts clearly and precisely.
One day at a time:
2> Start with meeting 1 person at a time. When you are meeting a person - even for project reasons, try to get to know the person, understand his background, his likes/dislikes, perspective on the project, what may be the pain points for him and how you can help resolve them? What does it mean by project success to him? Learn to be a good listener.
The person could be anyone from project sponsor to an end user-stakeholder to one of your internal development and testing Team members.
Professional Courses and Training:
3> Seek professional help. There are numerous training institutes and courses which delve on this particular subject. These courses will help you change the perspective and suggest ways and mean that will help you achieve your goals.
In Summary, be people centric and more extroverted than you are, start to get out of your comfort zone. We have to remember that a project is teamwork and a project is deemed successful or a failure only by the efforts of the individuals that make the Team. So encourage your Team members, have regular get together sessions, appreciate and acknowledge achievements, provide guidance and seek help, when and wherever required.
It is definitely time to come out of that dark cave and bask in the glorious sunlight.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Manage Stakeholder Expectations
Many things have been written and said about Managing Stakeholder Expectations. This is one of the most difficult tasks a project manager has to perform throughout the life cycle of the project depending upon the type and number of stakeholders involved. Essentially what may mean as a 'perfect and successful' project to the project manager, may turn out to be a complete disaster in the eyes of the stakeholders.
During Concept Phase:
A Project is conceptualized when the stakeholders or project sponsors meet and layout the project idea. Objectives and goals are set at this stage and a project is born. Once it has taken a definite shape and the ball has started rolling and the project progresses from the concept or initiation phase to design, construction, testing and finally delivery and closure. At every stage, we, as Project Managers have to manage stakeholder expectations.
Every stakeholder comes from a different arena or a different functional area and therefore has different definition of success. Hence it is very important at the onset, to make sure all stakeholders are on the same page and are driving towards a common goal. This is achieved in the Project Kick off meeting. The project sponsors or the ones who had laid the project high level objectives may not be the only ones who are the actual stakeholders that are involved with the project, as the project progresses you will find the number of stakeholders and actual representatives may also vary.
So, from the initial requirement sessions you may find that the stakeholders that get involved are deviating from the ground rule and are asking for something that is not in project scope or not inline with the general project agenda.
This may happen due to various reasons,
1> Stakeholders not clear on the Project Objectives
2> Need some understanding wrt different project areas or how projects are executed.
It is the job of the Project Manager to make sure these risks are addressed at proper time by proper planning.
Example:
Coming to an insurance industry example of this scenario,
say the project deals with integrating your Policy-Claims administration system with a Contacts management software and during the stakeholder meetings, the discussions lean towards tweaking and tuning of another dependant 3rd party interface - CMS upload for medicare.
Agreed, the 2 items may be related, but that does not definitely mean that the other interface is to be handled in this project scope (Unless that is the way the project has been scoped out).
To handle this situation make sure the project objectives are strongly and succintly communicated to the stakeholders that we are integrating to a new contact management software and this may mean some changes associated to some middleware bridge to make the other contact dependent interfaces work as expected, with minimal to no impacts. This lays a ground rule and restricts the deviations that may otherwise happen.
How to:
Major steps to stakeholder management in any project large or small are,
Step 1:
Conduct Stakeholder interviews:
- Study your stakeholders - their roles, who they are - organizational positions, their project roles - e.g. sponsors, end users, business SMEs, what they do? How would they influence the project outcome - completely understand their 'needs' and 'beliefs'? All this can be managed by having a 'Stakeholder map'.
- Know them wrt likes, dislikes, project expectation etc
Step 2:
Stakeholder Communication:
This is the most important thing in any project. I cannot stress on how important is this factor to guarantee a project success.
- Involve your stakeholders in all stages of the project right from initiation.
- Try to understand the project objectives from the stakeholders perspective. What does it mean to them by project success/failures/key painpoints etc? Let them define this in their own terms.
- Familiarize them with project financials, give them an overall project picture by having regular project status report meetings. In these meetings, make sure you concentrate on areas that are important to the stakeholders rather than delving into your project management methodologies and bravado stories.
- By effective communication and holding them accountable to project realities in times of project changes we can definitely and successfully manage stakeholder expectations. Remember Stakeholders and Project Sponsors have as much vested interest in project success as everyone.
During Concept Phase:
A Project is conceptualized when the stakeholders or project sponsors meet and layout the project idea. Objectives and goals are set at this stage and a project is born. Once it has taken a definite shape and the ball has started rolling and the project progresses from the concept or initiation phase to design, construction, testing and finally delivery and closure. At every stage, we, as Project Managers have to manage stakeholder expectations.
Every stakeholder comes from a different arena or a different functional area and therefore has different definition of success. Hence it is very important at the onset, to make sure all stakeholders are on the same page and are driving towards a common goal. This is achieved in the Project Kick off meeting. The project sponsors or the ones who had laid the project high level objectives may not be the only ones who are the actual stakeholders that are involved with the project, as the project progresses you will find the number of stakeholders and actual representatives may also vary.
So, from the initial requirement sessions you may find that the stakeholders that get involved are deviating from the ground rule and are asking for something that is not in project scope or not inline with the general project agenda.
This may happen due to various reasons,
1> Stakeholders not clear on the Project Objectives
2> Need some understanding wrt different project areas or how projects are executed.
It is the job of the Project Manager to make sure these risks are addressed at proper time by proper planning.
Example:
Coming to an insurance industry example of this scenario,
say the project deals with integrating your Policy-Claims administration system with a Contacts management software and during the stakeholder meetings, the discussions lean towards tweaking and tuning of another dependant 3rd party interface - CMS upload for medicare.
Agreed, the 2 items may be related, but that does not definitely mean that the other interface is to be handled in this project scope (Unless that is the way the project has been scoped out).
To handle this situation make sure the project objectives are strongly and succintly communicated to the stakeholders that we are integrating to a new contact management software and this may mean some changes associated to some middleware bridge to make the other contact dependent interfaces work as expected, with minimal to no impacts. This lays a ground rule and restricts the deviations that may otherwise happen.
How to:
Major steps to stakeholder management in any project large or small are,
Step 1:
Conduct Stakeholder interviews:
- Study your stakeholders - their roles, who they are - organizational positions, their project roles - e.g. sponsors, end users, business SMEs, what they do? How would they influence the project outcome - completely understand their 'needs' and 'beliefs'? All this can be managed by having a 'Stakeholder map'.
- Know them wrt likes, dislikes, project expectation etc
Step 2:
Stakeholder Communication:
This is the most important thing in any project. I cannot stress on how important is this factor to guarantee a project success.
- Involve your stakeholders in all stages of the project right from initiation.
- Try to understand the project objectives from the stakeholders perspective. What does it mean to them by project success/failures/key painpoints etc? Let them define this in their own terms.
- Familiarize them with project financials, give them an overall project picture by having regular project status report meetings. In these meetings, make sure you concentrate on areas that are important to the stakeholders rather than delving into your project management methodologies and bravado stories.
- By effective communication and holding them accountable to project realities in times of project changes we can definitely and successfully manage stakeholder expectations. Remember Stakeholders and Project Sponsors have as much vested interest in project success as everyone.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Insurance and IT Projects
I have been associated with the Insurance domain for over 12 years now and all my projects management related articles are based on my insurance projects background. This article tries to understand the relationships that exist between Insurance and IT and how to successfully execute IT Projects in the Insurance industry.
Insurance Industry Project Management relationship:
Insurance companies have a need for IT project implementations mainly based on their business requirements wrt speed to market a product, to align the organizational, cross divisional efficiencies, to reduce costs, to optimize processes across organization etc.
Insurance industry has a vast paramount level of experience wrt the business knowhow, but when it comes to the project management, there is required a specific skillset that will get the job done right, the first time.
Business need:
To execute projects in Insurance domains, the first and foremost thing that has to happen is to understand the business value expectations by clearly articulating and understanding the business requirements. Once this is defined, it is necessary to understand the current state and future state of the business processes so that it will help to optimize or leverage the technology solutions that can make the transformation possible.
Once the Technology solution is defined on paper atleast in a draft version, it is necessary to develop a high level roadmap taking all the stakeholders and project sponsers in confidence and develop a high level implementation plan. This takes into account and aligns the Program/Project level goals wrt Scope, time, cost, quality and resources.
Project Types:
Insurance projects vary from small size and budget to mid size - product implementations to enterprise level transformation Initiatives. Depending on the project types, the application and business needs, the project management processes and methods are decided.
The most common project categories of Insurance IT Projects are,
- IT System or enterprise level system consolidations
- Insurance Product implementations
- Application development, maintenance and Outsourcing
- Systems integration
- Pure IT Outsourcing
Methodology:
Projects in Insurance IT can follow any and all methodologies of execution. This entirely depends on the organization culture, project size, type, budget etc.
Traditionally Projects have been following the waterfall methodologies and in the new age either lean towads the RUP or Agile execution methodologies or a mixture of the two.
Project Manager Success criteria:
For a Project Manager to be successful in the Insurance IT Domain, he has to have Insurance business processes, operational knowledge along with Technical knowhow and skills
To elaborate,
Business Process knowledge
Understand the insurance domain industry, atleast the functional area with which the project is associated - either policy, billing or claims
Understand the various roles played by the stakeholders, SMEs and end users like Customer service (CSR), Intake, Accounting, Underwriting, Billing and collections, Operations, Sales, Marketing etc
PMO:
Successful Execution of Projects in the Insurance domain industry is based first and foremost on laying proper groundwork in terms of having a proper Project Governance plan or setting up a formal Project Management Office (PMO). PMO based on the project scope will divide or structure the project by LOBs based on business efficiencies to be achieved.
Another point to note is that since Insurance is a highly competive industry, driven by business needs, project Management exposure even if it exists will be in cross functional areas or even in deep departmental silos. So what this means is, the PMO has to first allocate and then align the Organization resources towards the common objective set and goals. For successful execution, the PMO should have a common and consistent approach in executing the projects. only this will ensure a common platform and lay the basis of future project success.
PMO functional areas:
PMO in Insurance IT will have to deal with Vendor management, project planning, budgeting and structuring, project communication and risk management planning.
PMO has to keep in focus the enterprise level impacts of the project being executed, be cognizant of the project management and execution costs wrt scheduling and planning tools, development and status tracking tools, configuration, testing and issue resolution tools.
The roles of the executing body have to be well defined as a part of the planning process.The Team has to be made aware of the various phases of project management, the dependent roles and parties involved e.g. requirements, development, infrastructure, testing, QA etc
Scope creep and cost overruns need to be managed very carefully to ensure project success
Insurance Industry Project Management relationship:
Insurance companies have a need for IT project implementations mainly based on their business requirements wrt speed to market a product, to align the organizational, cross divisional efficiencies, to reduce costs, to optimize processes across organization etc.
Insurance industry has a vast paramount level of experience wrt the business knowhow, but when it comes to the project management, there is required a specific skillset that will get the job done right, the first time.
Business need:
To execute projects in Insurance domains, the first and foremost thing that has to happen is to understand the business value expectations by clearly articulating and understanding the business requirements. Once this is defined, it is necessary to understand the current state and future state of the business processes so that it will help to optimize or leverage the technology solutions that can make the transformation possible.
Once the Technology solution is defined on paper atleast in a draft version, it is necessary to develop a high level roadmap taking all the stakeholders and project sponsers in confidence and develop a high level implementation plan. This takes into account and aligns the Program/Project level goals wrt Scope, time, cost, quality and resources.
Project Types:
Insurance projects vary from small size and budget to mid size - product implementations to enterprise level transformation Initiatives. Depending on the project types, the application and business needs, the project management processes and methods are decided.
The most common project categories of Insurance IT Projects are,
- IT System or enterprise level system consolidations
- Insurance Product implementations
- Application development, maintenance and Outsourcing
- Systems integration
- Pure IT Outsourcing
Methodology:
Projects in Insurance IT can follow any and all methodologies of execution. This entirely depends on the organization culture, project size, type, budget etc.
Traditionally Projects have been following the waterfall methodologies and in the new age either lean towads the RUP or Agile execution methodologies or a mixture of the two.
Project Manager Success criteria:
For a Project Manager to be successful in the Insurance IT Domain, he has to have Insurance business processes, operational knowledge along with Technical knowhow and skills
To elaborate,
Business Process knowledge
Understand the insurance domain industry, atleast the functional area with which the project is associated - either policy, billing or claims
Understand the various roles played by the stakeholders, SMEs and end users like Customer service (CSR), Intake, Accounting, Underwriting, Billing and collections, Operations, Sales, Marketing etc
PMO:
Successful Execution of Projects in the Insurance domain industry is based first and foremost on laying proper groundwork in terms of having a proper Project Governance plan or setting up a formal Project Management Office (PMO). PMO based on the project scope will divide or structure the project by LOBs based on business efficiencies to be achieved.
Another point to note is that since Insurance is a highly competive industry, driven by business needs, project Management exposure even if it exists will be in cross functional areas or even in deep departmental silos. So what this means is, the PMO has to first allocate and then align the Organization resources towards the common objective set and goals. For successful execution, the PMO should have a common and consistent approach in executing the projects. only this will ensure a common platform and lay the basis of future project success.
PMO functional areas:
PMO in Insurance IT will have to deal with Vendor management, project planning, budgeting and structuring, project communication and risk management planning.
PMO has to keep in focus the enterprise level impacts of the project being executed, be cognizant of the project management and execution costs wrt scheduling and planning tools, development and status tracking tools, configuration, testing and issue resolution tools.
The roles of the executing body have to be well defined as a part of the planning process.The Team has to be made aware of the various phases of project management, the dependent roles and parties involved e.g. requirements, development, infrastructure, testing, QA etc
Scope creep and cost overruns need to be managed very carefully to ensure project success
Friday, May 6, 2011
What is Project Management?
Project Management is essentially logically managing a Project initiative based on Priorities.
It is a process of Planning, Managing and coordinating an Initiative in order to achieve predefined objectives around Scope, cost, time, quality and resources. A Project as such is a unique initiative that has a defined duration, defined scope and limited funding.
Project Management as a Practice is not related to any one particular field or specialty. The concepts are equally applicable to Construction, IT, Manufacturing, Medicine etc, you name it.
There are lots of methodologies that are used in Today's world for executing projects predominantly either waterfall or Agile.
Irrespective of the methodology used, following are the steps you will use to implement a project,
- Project Definition
- Project Planning
- Project Execution
- Project Control and
- Project Closure
Every project will not have the same set of Predefined steps, in the same order. Each project based on its needs (E.g Project size, priorities etc may lay more importance on one section than other).Some projects may follow various combinations of these Project Steps,
Project Definition Phase
In this Phase, the Project Sponsors decide on the Project at a 10000 ft view i.e. it might not have enough clarity at this stage, they define the Goals and Objective they want to reach as a
Part of this Project.The Project sponsor decides on a Project Manager who can work on this Project. It is the project manager's job to get the required level of details for executing the Project Initiative. All the items planned so far are agreed upon and signed off by the requisite stakeholders.
Project Planning Phase
Following are the steps the Project Manager would follow in order to execute this step successfully.
Meet the stakeholders to understand the project Objectives, cost, budget and high level scope.
Project manager appoints the resources required. Project Manager decides on a high level time and cost estimate for the Project.
Project Execution Phase
In this Phase the PM already knows the resources and the tasks the Team is about to perform,The Team executes the Tasks as per the plan. The project manager assigns budget, allocates and monitors resource work in this phase of the project.
Project Control Phase
This phase basically may be run parallel to the execution phase. In this phase the Project Manager monitors the project wrt scope, time, cost, quality, budget and customer issues. There is risk management, resource management and time management involved in this phase
Project closing phase
In this Phase, the Team gets together and performs closure tasks, e.g identify training requests,preparing lessons learned document. Turning off/over equipment, hardware, software. etc, Project final review for Teams
It is a process of Planning, Managing and coordinating an Initiative in order to achieve predefined objectives around Scope, cost, time, quality and resources. A Project as such is a unique initiative that has a defined duration, defined scope and limited funding.
Project Management as a Practice is not related to any one particular field or specialty. The concepts are equally applicable to Construction, IT, Manufacturing, Medicine etc, you name it.
There are lots of methodologies that are used in Today's world for executing projects predominantly either waterfall or Agile.
Irrespective of the methodology used, following are the steps you will use to implement a project,
- Project Definition
- Project Planning
- Project Execution
- Project Control and
- Project Closure
Every project will not have the same set of Predefined steps, in the same order. Each project based on its needs (E.g Project size, priorities etc may lay more importance on one section than other).Some projects may follow various combinations of these Project Steps,
Project Definition Phase
In this Phase, the Project Sponsors decide on the Project at a 10000 ft view i.e. it might not have enough clarity at this stage, they define the Goals and Objective they want to reach as a
Part of this Project.The Project sponsor decides on a Project Manager who can work on this Project. It is the project manager's job to get the required level of details for executing the Project Initiative. All the items planned so far are agreed upon and signed off by the requisite stakeholders.
Project Planning Phase
Following are the steps the Project Manager would follow in order to execute this step successfully.
Meet the stakeholders to understand the project Objectives, cost, budget and high level scope.
Project manager appoints the resources required. Project Manager decides on a high level time and cost estimate for the Project.
Project Execution Phase
In this Phase the PM already knows the resources and the tasks the Team is about to perform,The Team executes the Tasks as per the plan. The project manager assigns budget, allocates and monitors resource work in this phase of the project.
Project Control Phase
This phase basically may be run parallel to the execution phase. In this phase the Project Manager monitors the project wrt scope, time, cost, quality, budget and customer issues. There is risk management, resource management and time management involved in this phase
Project closing phase
In this Phase, the Team gets together and performs closure tasks, e.g identify training requests,preparing lessons learned document. Turning off/over equipment, hardware, software. etc, Project final review for Teams
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